Benhall

Benhall is a village and civil parish in the Suffolk Coastal district of Suffolk, England. Located to the south of Saxmundham, in 2007 its population was estimated to be 560.

Benhall is split into two; one side of the A12 road is Benhall Low Street, whereas the other is Benhall Green. Benhall Green has a small primary school and a playgroup.

The manor of Benhall was granted in 1086 to Robert de Malet, and has since had a long and complicated history, having been owned by many of the most powerful people of their time, including King Henry VIII.

The great house of the area is Benhall Lodge. A manor house had existed on the Benhall estate since at least 1225, when it was fortified by Ralph de Sunderland. The property known as Benhall Lodge was originally created in 1638 for the then Lord of the Manor Sir Edward Duke, and was rebuilt in 1790 by William Beaumaris Rush, and then by Edward Hollond esq, in 1810. The mansion house has suffered serious fires in 1885 and in 1967, and was restored and slightly remodelled after each.

The walled kitchen garden of the country house is now a separate business concern, but the house itself and the surrounding gardens and parkland remains private residential property.